Scott pledges tax cuts – but won't say which ones

September 13, 2013|By Jim Stratton, Orlando Sentinel

Gov. Rick Scott wrapped up his five-city "It's Your Money" tax-cut tour in Orlando on Friday, saying he wanted to return as much as $500 million in taxes and fees to taxpayers as part of next year's budget.

The Republican governor listed a handful of possible cuts, including car-registration fees, property taxes, cellphone taxes and commercial-lease taxes, but he gave no indication which option he preferred.

However, he did note — as he did earlier in the week — that Florida is the only state that imposes a sales tax on commercial leases.

"Those are some of the ideas," Scott told about 30 business owners, residents and students at Valencia College East. "The goal today is to get your ideas."

The suggestions that surfaced Friday covered everything from rolling back taxes on the hotel industry to giving all public school teachers debit cards so they wouldn't have to spend their own money on classroom supplies. Legislators authorized a $500 debit card for teachers this fall, but the program was slow to get off the ground.

Scott was challenged by a University of Central Florida student who criticized his decision to sign a budget cutting $1.3 billion in education funding in 2011, his first year in office.

Most of that — including money for teacher raises — has been restored, though some of the increase was needed to accommodate growth in student enrollment.

"Tax cuts for some and shoddy education for all is not the way to a better Florida," said Mikaela Mendoza, a member of Florida For All, a group working against Scott's re-election.

"It's nice to have an opinion," Scott replied, "[but] your facts are wrong." He said the state was "doing exactly the right thing on education."

State economists are projecting that Florida will have an $846 million surplus next year, thanks to rising sales- and business-tax collections. About half of that surplus is projected to be one-time savings. Florida's total budget this year is about $74.1 billion.

Scott began his tour Monday in South Florida before heading to the Tampa Bay area. His swing through the state comes as he gears up a re-election campaign that will turn on Florida's economic health and the performance of its job market.

Since Scott took over in early 2011, the state has slowly but steadily added jobs, driving its unemployment rate from 9.4 percent in December 2011 to 7.1 percent today. The governor's office estimates that the state has gained more than 369,000 private-sector jobs since Scott took office in January 2011.

Critics point out that most of the new jobs have been in low-paying sectors such as retail, leisure and hospitality. Also, state economists recently estimated that almost half of the state's decrease in unemployment was attributable to people leaving the work force, not finding new jobs.

Only one major Democrat — former state Sen. Nan Rich of Weston — has entered the governor's race, though former GOP Gov. Charlie Crist, who has since switched parties, is considered a likely candidate. Former Florida Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink, who lost to Scott in 2010, is also considering a run.